{"id":2107,"date":"2020-08-19T13:44:04","date_gmt":"2020-08-19T13:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/?p=2107"},"modified":"2020-09-03T11:35:01","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T11:35:01","slug":"honey-for-coughs-and-colds-not-too-shab-bee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/2020\/08\/19\/honey-for-coughs-and-colds-not-too-shab-bee\/","title":{"rendered":"Honey for coughs and colds: not too shab-bee"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blog entry written on: Effectiveness of honey for symptomatic relief in upper respiratory tract infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis<\/a> (bmjebm-2020-111336)<\/p>\n

Author: Hibatullah Abuelgasim<\/em><\/p>\n

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Honey is a folklore favourite when it comes to cough and cold remedies. Everyone who has ever had a cold knows how annoying the symptoms can be. Unfortunately, there\u2019s not much a doctor can give you for them. Evidence shows that over-the-counter medications<\/a> and antibiotics<\/a> are not effective for symptoms of coughs and colds (known as \u2018upper respiratory tract infections\u2019). A quick Google search, however, turns up numerous articles recommending honey as a natural symptom-reliever.<\/p>\n

But is this fact, or fiction? Is there any evidence that honey actually does improve cough and cold symptoms?<\/p>\n

We designed our study, \u201cThe effectiveness of honey for symptomatic relief in upper respiratory tract infections: A systematic review and meta-analysis\u201d, to answer this question. We analysed studies comparing honey to placebo, and to \u2018usual care\u2019, which included a number of over-the-counter medications. We found that for combined symptoms, cough frequency and cough severity, honey is actually better than usual care.<\/p>\n

A previous study<\/a> had evaluated the use of honey for acute cough in children, concluding that honey is likely better than some other treatments or placebo. To differentiate our review, we looked at studies including:<\/p>\n